Which synagogue you belong to can indicate a lot about you. Your denomination of Judaism, your political views, even your ethnic background. But what if, instead of standing alone, more synagogues joined together?
That’s what a number of shuls in Bucks County are planning to do, as Shir Ami is leading the charge via creation of the Center for Adult Life, a group that will create programming for members of all shuls in Bucks County.
Simply put, if you belong to one shul, you can belong to the Center for Adult Life, said Shir Ami Executive Director Brent Osborne.
“Shir Ami has a phrase: ‘Everything is engagement.’ And so, we saw an opportunity with our older population to provide them with a better opportunity to engage at Shir Ami.
Through conversations with other leaders in the community, it became pretty clear that it’s not necessarily just about Shir Ami, but there’s a lot of strength in collaboration. So, the Center for Adult Life is supposed to be more than a program,” Osborne added.
Starting in November with a ‘50s- and ‘60s-themed rock-and-roll event, the Center for Adult Life will host programming aimed at Jewish adults in Bucks County. If you belong to any synagogue in the county, you can attend for free, with unaffiliated guests able to attend for a fee.
Other events coming in the near future are yoga classes, a Chanukah film screening, author talks, game nights, lectures and more. After the kickoff event on Nov. 20 at Shir Ami, a complete brochure of events will be released.
While the kickoff won’t come until later this fall, Osborne said a gathering on Sept. 16 showed just how much interest there is for a program like this.
“We had over 75 people in the building on a random Tuesday morning, and the excitement and energy was really high,” Osborne said. “Folks are looking for a place to congregate and be together, and new and engaging program ideas are really welcome, so we’re hearing positive things.”
While the Center for Adult Life aims to unite members of all Bucks County synagogues, it has already made waves at Shir Ami. Osborne said that they have had more than a dozen new families join since the center was announced, with some of those being former members who had left the synagogue and are now coming back because they are excited for what’s to come.
“It’s been a nice boost for us, and we’re hoping it trickles out into the other communities and the other synagogues as we all start to collaborate, put our brains together and bring this to life,” Osborne said.
Osborne said that leaders at other shuls in Bucks County are just as excited about the Center of Adult Life as Shir Ami is. And it’s not just the adults who could be benefiting, as Shir Ami and its peers hope to create similar programming for Bucks County’s youngest Jews.
There is already a collaborative program between Shir Ami and Kol Emet for nursery-age children that includes a Sunday morning soccer class.
“It’s another great example of what happens when two communities can do something together for a shared goal,” Osborne said.
Moving forward, Shir Ami hopes that this Center for Adult Life serves as an example of the heights that communities can reach when they work together. On Nov. 20, members of a variety of Bucks County synagogues will come together for coffee, shmoozing, dancing, singing and smiles.
It may just appear as a fun event on the flyer, but Osborne thinks it can start a movement.
“It helps synagogues in Bucks County realize that we are stronger together,” he said.